The Milwaukee Post

16 • Milwaukee Post • August 16, 2013 Editor's note: The following are two stories which did not appear in last week's Milwaukee Post print edition because of a production error . Five charged for theft at Falls Target store WAUKESHA – Five Milwaukee women were charged recently in Waukesha County Circuit Court with misdemeanor retail theft after allegedly being observed putting merchandise in their purses at the Target store in Menomonee Falls, according to a criminal complaint. The complaint says that a loss prevention officer at the Target, N95-W17707 Shady Lane, saw Melissa Patterson, 24, Keysha Lewis, 21, Jasmine Davenport, 24, and Breonna Lovett, 17, putting items in their purses. The women went out to a car in the parking lot, emptied their purses, and returned to the store with Jacquelyn Patterson, 22. The Target officer saw the women again taking merchandise, including clothing, undergarments and personal hygiene items. Each of the women had between $100 and $222 in property on them and there was also $805.24 worth of merchandise in the car, the complaint adds. The total value of the items taken was over $1,600. Jacquelyn Patterson told police she wasn't sure what the others had done, but if she did anything wrong the stores cameras would show it, the complaint says. Lovett also told police she wasn't sure what the others were doing. She also told police she took clothing during both trips into the store, according the complaint. The women are each charged with one count of misdemeanor retail theft – intentionally taking less than $500 worth of property. If convicted, each could be fined up to $10,000 and be sentenced to up to nine months in prison. West Allis man in court WAUKESHA – A 18-year-old West Allis man was in court recently with a $750 cash bond set after he allegedly was party to an sport utility vehicle being taken and a high-speed vehicle chase with New Berlin police in July. Jacob Zuvich was charged with operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, three counts of misdemeanor theft, two counts of attempted misdemeanor theft and obstructing an officer. According to the complaint, Zuvich and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Shayna Stewart-Funk of Milwaukee, were found in New Berlin after allegedly stealing a SUV and leading an officer into a chase that lasted for about 4.3 miles with speeds ranging from 80 to 100 mph. Stewart-Funk is also being charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court with driving a vehicle without consent, fleeing-eluding an officer and obstructing an officer. Her next court appearance is 10:30 a.m. Aug. 30. According to Zuvich's criminal complaint, he told police that he and Stewart-Funk had used heroin for about a month and had been car-hopping, looking for unlocked vehicles to steal items. They allegedly found the vehicle unlocked with keys inside and stole the car, according to the complaint. Vet's LED windshield catches Baldwin's eye Senator hears challenges facing today's entrepreneurs By ARTHUR THOMAS Conley News Service NEW BERLIN – Senators and governors often make appearances at manufacturing facilities to tour the plants and talk with workers and owners. It isn't often that a sitting United States senator comes into the living room workspace of an entrepreneur who is looking to take his business to mass production. That is just what Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin did on Monday morning when she visited the New Berlin facility of Illumatek. The company makes engraved and LED-lit windshields for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and has plans to make them for other vehicles too. John Miller, a veteran, founded the company after he was struck by a sport utility vehicle while riding his motorcycle. He said it took him some time to find the right approach, but eventually he hit on a design that uses LEDs that are half the size of a grain of rice to light up his windshield. It gave him an opportunity to add a personal touch to his bike and make it safer to ride at night. What caught Baldwin's attention in particular was what Miller has done since his business began to grow. As investors inquired about the business, Miller has made it a point that he wants to prioritize creating jobs in America while helping returning veterans find employment. "It really inspired me," Baldwin said, noting that she mentioned Illumatek in her first Senate speech. She said she wanted to come see Miller's operation and hear about the challenges he faced. That desire led Baldwin to the living room of Blaine Heilman, the artist who does designs for Illumatek. Miller and Heilman converted the room into a workspace. Before that, Illumatek was run out of Miller's apartment. He said he plans to be in an actual manufacturing facility in time for a new piece of equipment that will allow him to mass produce the engraved windshields. Wants to keep company in U.S., help kids and veterans The challenge for Miller to be able to move the company to a new facility has Photo by Charles Auer/Conley News Service Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin talks with John Miller during a visit to Illumatek Monday morning. been finding investors that share his desire to keep producing in the United States. He has walked away from deals because investors didn't think he was serious about not producing in China or Mexico. Many in venture capital are focused "only on green and not on red, white and blue," Baldwin said, repeating a line Miller used during the presentation of his product. She also said one of the common challenges she has seen in meeting with entrepreneurs around the state is the time it takes to get regulatory approval for an idea. Miller said it took him 18 months to get the U.S. Department of Transportation to sign off on his engraved and illuminated windshield. He also added that the patent process takes too long and he has hesitated to file for additional patents for fear of someone infringing on his ideas. Miller said he isn't looking to get incredibly rich off of his product. He wants to make enough money to be comfortable and then pay it forward by helping kids and veterans. In particular, he wants to employ veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said too many of those veterans are committing suicide because they can't find jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was a non-seasonally adjusted 7.7 percent in July, a drop from 8.9 percent in July 2012. The unemployment rate for all veterans is 6.4 percent, below well below the national nonadjusted rate of 7.7 percent. Baldwin said there are multiple challenges involved with getting post-9/11 veterans employed, particularly those who joined the armed forces right out of high school. She said not enough is done to recognize the skills veterans developed while enlisted. She pointed to the example of a medic having trouble finding a job as paramedic. "We need to give some credit for the skills learned in the field," Baldwin said. Baldwin said more also needs be done to help returning veterans enter the workforce. "There's probably not as many transition programs as there ought to be," she said, noting that many are essentially starting from scratch when they leave the service. Contact Arthur Thomas athomas@conleynet.com

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